And, unless the starting pay is atleast $19/hr, I wouldn’t change jobs. Not sure what the start pay is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not that.
Back to the GPS topic, this is again another thread where I’m surprised by the replies. I’m surprised so many of you still use GPS. I seems like most everyone I know who used GPS now use their cell phones.
For you GPS users out there, what is it about your GPS that is keeping you using it and preventing you from simply using your cell phone?
mine is integrated into my car and a bit more convenient that way.
Also, I don’t run the risk of accidentally racking up extra charges on my cell phone bill by downloading the wrong app
JoeMario Quote: “For you GPS users out there, what is it about your GPS that is keeping you using it and preventing you from simply using your cell phone?” Unquote
It’s all about being smart cheap. I have a dumb phone, a Tracfone that I don’t use much; can keep it alive for less than 7 bucks per month. It can access my email if needed. A GPS costs nothing per month after the initial buy. The monthly cost of a smartphone is not worth the expense to me and the need for frequent charging is annoying. We are not poor; have the money. Just paid a trade and cash for a brandy new 2013 about a month ago.
Seems like I am too cheap. No smartphone here, just a dumb one that makes calls and sends texts and even that is too much for me.
I bought a Magellan from costco in 2006 and still have it. I am pretty good with directions and would study any new route on google, or yahoo before I leave. I have the GPS for those times that I take the wrong exit or the ramp is closed. Even then, I rarely actually put the address in.
The most use I have gotten from it has been when traveling and we get hungry, you can search the points of interest for your favorite burger or pizza place. Saves money and I don’t have to drive around aimlessly.
I admit that even though I am in my 40’s, the map books never grew on me. Never invested in one. But again, somehow I am blessed with great sense of direction and also great memory for roads.
Because there are long stretches of highway around here where there is no t-Mobile service (within 100 miles of San Francisco). Or at least the service isn’t good enough to reliably maintain an acceptably fast data connection with a phone in a moving car. Very spotty. And I really like having an entire atlas readily available instead of having to download regions before I go somewhere. I do like it for hiking. At a walking pace it has less difficulty locking onto satellites and I enjoy seeing exactly where I am.
I’m not surprised so many of us used GPS. They are dedicated compared to a smart phone and cheaper and easier to operate. I don’t want the gazillion dollar a month for a smart phone fee which really adds up when I can use a GPS for free, an I Pod touch on nearly everyone’s business customer WiFi for free connectivity ( We pay for it with higher prices, use it) and a cheap dumb cell 200 minute phone for $27 a month. When you do the gazintas, smart phones aren’t that smart unless you have a real need for that kind of constant connectivity. @WharWho @galant and others and I completely agree on this issue !! Smart phones are a real dumb idea for a lot people who really can’t and don’t have the need. I feel a lot of us fall into this category. I’ll think about it when gas price drop under two dollars a gallon or I get one for free ( few things really are) like my son who works for Microsoft.
Because there are long stretches of highway around here where there is no t-Mobile service (within 100 miles of San Francisco).
The more sophisticated GPS system in your cell phone doesn’t need the telecom service. It uses the satellites just as a Garmin GPS system does. Some of the earlier smart phone GPS systems relied on the cell phone service. But it’s NOT needed on most cell phones today.
They are dedicated compared to a smart phone and cheaper and easier to operate
If you have a smart phone already…then I don’t see how a separate GPS is cheaper. I sure wouldn’t buy a smart phone to get GPS…yes…that would be more expensive.
" Siri - take me to the nearest hospital." That’s about as simple as it gets.
Just so you know, GPS is completely worthless in downtown Houston. There are so many “layers” of roads and the GPS can’t detect your elevation. You’ll be driving like a crazy person trying to figure out that your GPS wants you to turn left off of a bridge…
Cell phone GPS isn’t nearly as good in my opinion. This is an old article, but Siri sometimes doesn’t know what she is talking about. I have my iPhone and I hook it up through my Bluetooth but I still end up using my GPS. Why? A few reasons. I like being able to see the maps. i like that the system gives me close ups at tricky exits. And my Tom Tom knows back routes as well. My iPhone likes to keep me on highways even if it takes longer.
Oh, and my Tom Tom also avoids construction, reroutes me when there’s bad traffic, and if it doesn’t catch that there is indeed a closed road, I can click one button and it doesn’t keep trying to route me in different ways to still go down the same broken bridge. I can also visually see where the next gas stations, rest stops, hotels, etc are.
Good clarification MikeInNH. My question was in the context of “If you already have a smart phone and are still using a GPS, what are your reasons.”
I like being able to see the maps.
That’s kind of a problem when you’re driving. The whole purpose of voice GPS is so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road while driving.
If they’re asking you to “exit right” and there are three exits on your right (which is common in big cities) it is safer to take a quick glance at a red line than reading all the signs, hesitating as to which exit it really is, and then deciding at the last second. (Not to mention, I like being able to see the maps even if I am a passenger so I can actually tell the driver which is the actual exit to take).
^
Doesn’t your GPS announce the number of the exit, as mine does?
Beginning 2 miles before the exit, it will say something like, “two miles ahead, take exit 13B on the right”. Then, as I approach the exit ramp, it will tell me to, “bear right to exit 13B”.
Well, yes, but sometimes it’s still confusing. Minneapolis isn’t known for its “spaghetti junctions” without reason. 
My newer Garmin goes into split screen and shows the exit so at I know how to negotiate multiple exits at the same interchange. The correct one is highlighted with a magenta line.
^
My friend’s Garmin (I have no idea of the exact model number) goes one step further.
Besides the magenta line, it shows a photograph of the exit sign, which I think is just a bit…over the top. IMHO, this is truly GPS for Dummies.
;-))
There is a significant range of signage from state to state and with logical, easily comprehended and properly placed signage it is much less stressful to navigate unfamiliar highways. I have what some call “dead reckoning” and the GPSs run contrary to my sense of where I am heading. The view is not oriented and there is little meaningful information on the screen beyond the miles to the next exit and the exit direction. And while being notified well in advance of approaching an exit the situation @cilevans calls spaghetti junctions causes a great deal of confusion. The initial instruction to “exit right” is immediately followed with “exit left” then another “exit right” all in a mater of seconds while local traffic is jumping lanes around you.
Yeah, I think mine has the exit sign too. I’ve seen a very few exits where the line/exit sign is useful. But every once in a while it helps.